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Broomfield Heights Middle School club dancing to diversity's beat

Moves culled from variety of cultures, to foster acceptance

By Megan Quinn Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
03/24/2013 01:00:00 PM MDT

Sarah Rosenblum, 6th grade, in the Hawaiian dance during DANCE (Diversity and New Cultural Education) Club rehearsal for their performance at Broomfield Heights Middle School in Broomfield.
(
Mark Leffingwell
)

Whether jumping wildly to West African drums or spinning on the floor to a hip hop beat, students in the Broomfield Heights Middle School DANCE club are using their feet to send a message of love and acceptance.

The student group, which includes more than 20 children, teaches dance moves from different cultures while integrating lessons of acceptance, exploration, perseverance and respect. DANCE stands for Diversity and New Cultural Education.

"It's a dance club, but it's not just about dance," said eighth-grader Solstice Jensen. "It's about experiencing new things."

The students got a chance to show off their skills at annual performances Thursday and Friday, in which dances ranged from Irish step dancing, hip hop, break dancing, ballet, lyrical and swing.

Using the theme of "heart," the students wove together diverse dances to illustrate how humanity can use love to rise above life's obstacles.

At a dress rehearsal the night before the big show, students smiled and hugged each other as they described how the DANCE club has helped them overcome obstacles of their own. Many students call the club their second family.

Jensen, for example, said she came to the school just a month ago and didn't have any friends.

After joining the club, though, things changed.

"I made so many friends this way," she said.

Another enthusiastic dancer, Marie Axalan, said the club broadened her horizons to things she didn't think were possible.

"I thought. hip hop? No way. I'm never, ever doing that," she said, sporting a flat-brimmed hat as she practiced a few hip hop moves she learned from the club. "Now I just love it."

Paula Coffman, a social studies teacher and professional dancer who leads the club, said she shed a few inspired tears while watching her students run through their dress rehearsal. The club has been around for 15 years and has proven itself as a solid way to help children to use dance to express themselves and open doors to their future, she said.

"It doesn't matter what their strengths or challenges are. They all blend in when they're on stage," she said.

During the performance, students got to take a little bit of creative license and contribute their own choreography to some of the dances. In one piece, three friends acted out a scene at a sleepover. They used pillows and pictures of their "boyfriends" as props while they jumped, spun and tangled together. The style of dance is meant to be improvisational and change with each performance.

"You just never know what they will come up with," Coffman said. "It looks really good."

While the dances themselves showcase diverse cultures and styles, Coffman said the club draws a diverse group of students who speak different languages and come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, different grades and different dance abilities.

Tamara Kissinger, a parent volunteer, said the club has done wonders for her son, Daniel Wire. Wire, who is autistic, found that music would calm him when he became frustrated or overstimulated. After joining the group, his mother found she could play the club's CD of practice music, and he would dance out his frustrations.

"It's a place he feels he belongs. He's just a totally new kid," she said, watching her son smile as we walked onto the stage.

Jack Tanklefsky, another dance student, said group members are accepting of each other's backgrounds and are eager to stand up for one another if something goes wrong.

In a Hawaiian dance, for example, Tanklefsky wears a costume "that looks like kind of a dress," but said he isn't afraid of people making fun of him.

"Respecting others is a big part of the dance club. We want to take that beyond the stage and into the school."

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